Adjective "filibustering" definition and examples

(Filibustering may not be an adjective, but it can be used as an adjective, click here to find out.)

Pronunciation

/ˈfɪlɪbʌstə/

Definitions and examples

noun

An action such as prolonged speaking which obstructs progress in a legislative assembly in a way that does not technically contravene the required procedures.

'Because the filibuster is a negative procedure, and one that frustrates the will of a simple majority, it has a bad reputation.'

'This guy claims not to have a view about whether Senate filibusters are constitutional.'

'In an effort to further weaken the filibuster, the Senate in 1975 reduced the required number of votes from two-thirds to three-fifths.'

'However, 60 votes are required to end a filibuster.'

'On presidential appointments - first, judges and now ambassador to the United Nations - they resort to the classic weapon of southern obstructionism: the filibuster.'

'In that event, breaking the filibuster would require 67 votes, a full 8 more than had been secured on Friday.'

'In addition, if the judicial filibuster were ended by a vote of the Senate, it would vanish entirely.'

'The filibuster rule has of course been the subject of occasional but profoundly important alteration.'

'Nor is the Republicans' Senate majority great enough to prevent the Democrats defeating a nominee by means of a procedural filibuster.'

'The judicial filibuster is indeed an obstruction of last resort.'

A person engaging in unauthorized warfare against a foreign state.

verb

Act in an obstructive manner in a legislative assembly, especially by speaking at inordinate length.

'Hatch returns to the 1995 status quo and the Democrats agree to stop filibustering.'

'There are some very key bills to get to tonight, and I would hate to think the two main parties were filibustering in an attempt to avoid getting to them.'

'In the legislative session that ended in June, a lawmaker filibustered and killed a measure that would have placed a cap on the law.'

'The Democrats were filibustering, and the Republicans needed a 60-vote supermajority to end the filibuster and bring the proposal to the floor for a vote.'

'The president is basically banging on the Democrats and saying they were leading this filibuster of the Patriot Act, and it's true that mostly it was Democrats filibustering.'

'The bad news is that this will not occur until the Democrats control the Senate and the Republicans are the ones filibustering.'

'If they go back to filibustering, the constitutional option's still on the table, and the trigger will be pulled.'

'We were not the ones - we were not the ones filibustering, in other words.'

'It was of course a ploy to slow things down and to ensure that as each plane lands on Ulsan they're hoping for more votes to arrive, so they're filibustering, slowing things down, delaying, wasting time.'

'First, if the Senate Democrats have the will to continue filibustering Bush's conservative nominees, a 15-year term limit is not likely to break that will.'

'A handful of senators announced they would filibuster any energy legislation that opened up the area to drilling.'

'Why do a few senators filibuster the nominee?'

'Senate Democrats filibustered his nomination to the appeals court, and he accepted a recess appointment by Bush.'

'Aside from filibustering the GOP's energy plan and blocking a handful of exceptionally reactionary judicial nominees, there are few success stories to which Democratic leaders can point.'

'This parliamentary session had to go into overtime to get anything accomplished after months of filibustering their budget.'

'But Ellis promised to filibuster the bill without his amendment.'

'Which is exactly what Paul Martin has been doing by canceling Opposition days and filibustering his own budget.'

More definitions

1. U.S. Politics. the use of irregular or obstructive tactics by a member of a legislative assembly to prevent the adoption of a measure generally favored or to force a decision against the will of the majority. an exceptionally long speech, as one lasting for a day or days, or a series of such speeches to accomplish this purpose. a member of a legislature who makes such a speech.

2. an irregular military adventurer, especially one who engages in an unauthorized military expedition into

More examples(as adjective)

"orators can be filibustering."

Origin

(filibuster)Late 18th century: from French flibustier, first applied to pirates who pillaged the Spanish colonies in the West Indies. In the mid 19th century (via Spanish filibustero), the term denoted American adventurers who incited revolution in several Latin American states, whence filibuster (sense 2 of the noun). The verb was used to describe tactics intended to sabotage US congressional proceedings, whence filibuster (sense 1 of the noun).

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